Man arrested in teen’s kidnapping

Staff report

ALLIANCE

A Canton man accused of holding a Smith Township teen against her will for days in a hotel appeared Friday in Alliance Municipal Court.

Chavion R. Young, 18, of Spangler Road Northeast, faces a first-degree felony count of kidnapping. He did not enter a plea during his arraignment Thursday.

Young, who had a prior relationship with the teen, is accused of “coercing” her to a hotel, where they spent a few days, said Lt. Bill Morris of the Alliance Police Department.

He said a gun was used in the incident, but Young has denied responsibility for it.

A missing-persons report was filed through Smith Township police.

Though police were called to the hotel for a disturbance Thursday, Young and the girl already had left. Police found the girl soon after at a nearby apartment building. They later arrested Young elsewhere.

The girl suffered minor injuries, Morris said.

He said police took DNA samples from Young and others with whom he was arrested to determine if their tissue appears on the gun.

“This thing is fast-growing, and we’re still doing a lot of follow-up on it,” said Morris, adding he expects further charges in the case.

Young remains in the Stark County jail on a $50,000 bond. He’s been ordered to have no contact with the girl.